To say Glee’s Chris Colfer is basking in the glow of his first Golden Globe nomination for his role as McKinley High’s estranged gay pioneer Kurt is a bit of an understatement. “I’m so excited, I’ve been tackling everyone I’ve seen on set today,” he enthuses, before adding with a chuckle, “Whether I know them or not!”

Not everyone in the Glee cast shares Colfer’s enthusiasm, however. “Ashley Fink [Lauren] sent me a hysterical text message,” he recalls. “She said she was excited that I was nominated but she was more excited for Burlesque.”

The Fox phenom netted a total of five Globe nominations — more than any other series. In addition to the show receiving a best comedy nod, Colfer’s co-stars Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, and Jane Lynch got singled out. The kudos boost comes just days after production on the Super Bowl episode was shut down due to an outbreak of tonsillitis. Make that an alleged outbreak of tonsillitis.

“Who’s spreading this rumor?” questions Colfer. “I really thought we had shut down production on Friday because there was too much fog. I had no idea anyone was sick. But you know how people stretch things. One of us gets a head cold and suddenly we all have bird flu.” (A rep for 20th Century insists production was halted after several cast members fell ill. Tweets from Dianna Agron and Kevin McHale would seem to back this up.)

One thing everyone seems to agree on, however, is that the addition of Colfer’s new on-screen crush Darren Criss has been a huge success. Is a Kurt/Blaine romance inevitable? “Fans really want it to happen,” he hedges. “It’s funny how many people want to see these boys hook up. We’ll see.”